Surah 48. Al-Fath

Say unto those bedouin who stayed behind: "In time you will be called upon [to fight] against people of great prowess in war:¹⁷ you will have to fight against them [until you die] or they surrender. And then, if you heed [that call], God will bestow on you a goodly reward; but if you turn away as you turned away this time,¹⁸ He will chastise you with grievous chastisement.

  - Mohammad Asad

This is evidently a prophecy relating to the future wars against Byzantium and Persia.

Lit., "before", i.e., at the time of the expedition which resulted in the Truce of Hudaybiyyah.

Tell the beduin Arabs who stayed behind: "You shall soon be called upon to fight against a mighty people then either you will fight or they will embrace Islam. Then if you obey, Allah will grant you a good reward, but if you turn away as you have done before, He will inflict on you a painful penalty."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say unto those of the wandering Arabs who were left behind: Ye will be called against a folk of mighty prowess, to fight them until they surrender; and if ye obey, Allah will give you a fair reward; but if ye turn away as ye did turn away before, He will punish you with a painful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

No blame attaches to the blind, nor does blame attach to the lame, nor does blame attach to the sick [for staying away from a war in God's cause];¹⁹ but whoever heeds [the call of] God and His Apostle [in deed or in heart²⁰], him will He admit into gardens through which running waters flow; whereas him who turns away will He chastise with grievous chastisement.

  - Mohammad Asad

These three categories circumscribe metonymically all kinds of infirmities or disabilities which may prevent a person from actively participating in a war in God's cause.

This latter applies, by obvious implication, to such as are unable to participate in the fighting physically, but are in their hearts with those who fight.

There is no blame on the blind, the lame, and the sick if they stay behind. He that obeys Allah and His Rasool shall be admitted to gardens beneath which the rivers flow, and he that turns away shall be punished with a painful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

There is no blame for the blind, nor is there blame for the lame, nor is there blame for the sick (that they go not forth to war). And whoso obeyeth Allah and His messenger, He will make him enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow; and whoso turneth back, him will He punish with a painful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

INDEED, well-pleased was God with the believers when they pledged their allegiance unto thee [O Muhammad] under that tree,²¹ for He knew what was in their hearts; and so He bestowed inner peace upon them from on high, and rewarded them with [the glad tiding of] a victory soon to come²²

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., at Hudaybiyyah (see introductory note).

Most of the commentators assume that this relates to the conquest of Khaybar, which took place a few months after the Truce of Hudaybiyyah. It is probable, however, that the implication is much wider than that - namely, a prophecy of the almost bloodless conquest of Mecca in the year 8 H., the victorious establishment of Islam in all of Arabia and, finally, the tremendous expansion of the Islamic Commonwealth under the Prophet's immediate successors.

Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity upon them and He rewarded them with a speedy victory,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance unto thee beneath the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down peace of reassurance on them, and hath rewarded them with a near victory;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [of] many war-gains which they would achieve: for God is indeed almighty, wise.

  - Mohammad Asad

and many spoils which they will soon acquire. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And much booty that they will capture. Allah is ever Mighty, Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[O you who believe!] God has promised you many war-gains which you shall yet achieve; and He has vouchsafed you these [worldly gains] well in advance,²³ and has stayed from you the hands of [hostile] people, so that this [your inner strength] may become a symbol to the believers [who will come after you²⁴], and that He may guide you all on a straight way.

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "of what is to come to you in the hereafter".

Thus Razi.

Allah has promised you many spoils which you shall acquire, and has given you these spoils of Khayber with all promptness. He has restrained the hands of enemies from you, so that it may serve as a sign to the believers and that He may guide you to the Right Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah promiseth you much booty that ye will capture, and hath given you this in advance, and hath withheld men's hands from you, that it may be a token for the believers, and that He may guide you on a right path.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And there are yet other [gains] which are still beyond your grasp,²⁵ [but] which God has already encompassed [for you]: for God has the power to will anything.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the achievement of final bliss in the life to come.

Besides, He promises you other spoils as well, which are not yet within your reach but Allah has surely encompassed them. Allah has power over everything.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And other (gain), which ye have not been able to achieve, Allah will compass it. Allah is Able to do all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [now,] if they who are bent on denying the truth should fight against you, they will indeed turn their backs [in flight], and will find none to protect them and none to bring them succour:²⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

This divine promise was fulfilled in the unbroken sequence of Muslim victories after the Truce of Hudaybiyyah, ultimately leading to the establishment of an empire which extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the confines of China. - For the conditional nature of the above promise, see note [82] on 3:111 .

Even if the unbelievers had fought with you, they would have been put to flight, and would have not found any protector or helper.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if those who disbelieve join battle with you they will take to flight, and afterward they will find no protecting friend nor helper.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

such being God's way which has ever obtained in the past - and never wilt thou find any change in God's way!²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

This reference to "God's way" (sunnat Allah) is twofold: on the one hand, "you are bound to rise high if you are [truly] believers" ( 3:139 ), and, on the other, "God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves" ( 13:11 ), in both the positive and negative connotations of the concept of "change".

Such has been the practice of Allah in the past; and you shall find no change in the practice of Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

It is the law of Allah which hath taken course aforetime. Thou wilt not find for the law of Allah aught of power to change.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And He it is who, in the valley of Mecca, stayed their hands from you, and your hands from them, after He had enabled you to vanquish them; and God saw indeed what you were doing.²⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Shortly before the Truce of Hudaybiyyah was concluded, a detachment of Quraysh warriors - variously estimated at between thirty and eighty men - attacked the Prophet's camp, but his practically unarmed followers overcame them and took them prisoner; after the signing of the treaty the Prophet released them unharmed (Muslim, Nasa'i, Tabari).

It is He Who has restrained their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Makkah, through the Peace Treaty of Hudeybiyah, after that He had given you victory over them, and Allah was watching all your actions.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And He it is Who hat withheld men's hands from you, and hath withheld your hands from them, in the valley of Mecca, after He had made you victors over them. Allah is Seer of what ye do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[It was not for your enemies' sake that He stayed your hands from them:²⁹ for] it was they who were bent on denying the truth, and who debarred you from the Inviolable House of Worship³⁰ and prevented your offering from reaching its destination.³¹ And had it not been for the believing men and believing women [in Mecca], whom you might have unwittingly trampled underfoot,³² and on whose account you might have become guilty, without knowing it, of a grievous wrong -: [had it not been for this, you would have been allowed to fight your way into the city: but you were forbidden to fight³³] so that [in time] God might admit to His grace whomever He wills.³⁴ Had they [who deserve Our mercy and they whom We have condemned] been clearly discernible [to you],³⁵ We would indeed have imposed grievous suffering [at your hands] on such of them as were bent on denying the truth.

  - Mohammad Asad

This interpolation is based on Razi's explanation of the connection between this and the preceding verse.

I.e., the Ka'bah, which, until the year 7 H., the Muslims were not allowed to approach.

See surah {2}, note [175].

I.e., killed. After the Prophet's and his followers' exodus to Medina, a number of Meccans both men and women - had embraced Islam, but had been prevented by the pagan Quraysh from emigrating (Tabari, Zamakhshari). Their identities were not generally known to the Muslims of Medina.

Thus Zamakhshari, supported by Razi, Ibn Kathir, and other commentators.

I.e., so that the believers might be spared, and that in time many a pagan Meccan might embrace Islam, as actually happened.

Lit., "had they been separated from one another": i.e., the believers and the pagans among the Meccans. In its wider sense, the above implies that man never really knows whether another human being deserves God's grace or condemnation.

They are the ones who disbelieved and obstructed you from the Masjid-al-Haram (Sacred Mosque - Ka'bah) and prevented your offerings from reaching their destination. Had there not been believing men and believing women in the city of Makkah, whom you did not know, and their possibility of being trampled under your feet and thus incurred unwitting guilt on their account. Allah would have allowed you to fight, but He held back your hands, so that He may admit to His mercy whom He will. Had the believers stood apart from them, We would certainly have punished the disbelievers among them with painful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

These it was who disbelieved and debarred you from the Inviolable Place of Worship, and debarred the offering from reaching its goal. And if it had not been for believing men and believing women, whom ye know not--lest ye should tread them under foot and thus incur guilt for them unknowingly; that Allah might bring into His mercy whom He will--If (the believers and the disbelievers) had been clearly separated We verily had punished those of them who disbelieved with painful punishment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Whereas they who are bent on denying the truth harboured a stubborn disdain in their hearts - the stubborn disdain [born] of ignorance³⁶ - God bestowed from on high His [gift of] inner peace upon His Apostle and the believers, and bound them to the spirit of God-consciousness:³⁷ for they were most worthy of this [divine gift], and deserved it well. And God has full knowledge of all things.

  - Mohammad Asad

Although this reference to the "stubborn disdain" (hamiyyah) on the part of the pagan Quraysh may have been characteristic of their over-all attitude towards the Prophet and his mission, it is probable - as Zamakhshari points out - that its special mention here relates to an incident which occurred at Hudaybiyyah during the truce negotations between the Prophet and the emissary of the Meccans, Suhayl ibn 'Amr. The Prophet began to dictate to 'Al' ibn Ab' Talib the text of the proposed agreement: "Write down, 'In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace'"; but Suhayl interrupted him and said: "We have never heard of [the expression] 'the Most Gracious'; write down only what we know." Whereupon the Prophet said to 'Ali: "Write, then, 'In Thy name, O God'." 'Ali wrote as he was told; and the Prophet continued: "This is what has been agreed upon between Muhammad, God's Apostle, and the people of Mecca . . .". But Suhayl interrupted again: "If thou wert [really] an apostle of God, [this would be an admission on our part that] we have been doing wrong to thee; write, therefore, as we understand it." And so the Prophet dictated to Ali: "Write thus: 'This is what has been agreed upon between Muhammad, the son of Abd Allah, son of Abd al-Muttalib, and the people of Mecca...'." (This story is recorded in many versions, among others by Nasa'i, Ibn Hanbal and Tabari.)

Lit., "the word of God-consciousness" (kalimat at-taqwa): implying that their consciousness of God and of His all-pervading power enabled them to bear the "stubborn disdain" of their enemies with inner calm and serenity.

While the unbelievers set up in their hearts the arrogance, the arrogance of ignorance, Allah sent down His tranquillity upon His Rasool and the believers and made the believers to adhere to the word of piety; for they were most worthy and deserving of it. Allah has full knowledge of everything.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When those who disbelieve had set up in their hearts zealotry, the zealotry of the Age of Ignorance, then Allah sent down His peace of reassurance upon His messenger and upon the believers and imposed on them the word of self restraint, for they were worthy of it and meet for it. And Allah is Aware of all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Indeed, God has shown the truth in His Apostle's true vision:³⁸ most certainly shall you enter the Inviolable House of Worship, if God so wills, in full security, with your heads shaved or your hair cut short,³⁹ without any fear: for He has [always] known that which you yourselves could not know.⁴⁰ And He has ordained [for you], besides this, a victory soon to come.⁴¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Shortly before the expedition which ended at Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet had a dream in which he saw himself and his followers entering Mecca as pilgrims. This dream-vision was destined to be fulfilled a year later, in 7 H., when the Muslims were able to perform their first peaceful pilgrimage to the Holy City.

Male pilgrims usually shave or (which is the meaning of the conjunctive wa in this context) cut their hair short before assuming the pilgrim's garb (ihram), for it is not permitted to do so while in the state of pilgrimage. A repetition of the same act marks the completion of the pilgrimage (cf. 2:196 ).

Namely, the future.

See note [22].

Indeed Allah has in all truth shown the vision to His Rasool, that, Allah willing, you shall enter the Masjid-al-Haram (Ka'bah) fearless and secure to perform Umrah or Hajj and some having their heads shaved and others having their hair cut, for He knows what you do not know. So, He granted you a near victory before the fulfillment of that vision.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah hath fulfilled the vision for His messenger in very truth. Ye shall indeed enter the Inviolable Place of Worship, if Allah will, secure, (having your hair) shaven and cut, not fearing. But He knoweth that which ye know not, and hath given you a near victory beforehand.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He it is who has sent forth His Apostle with the [task of spreading] guidance and the religion of truth, to the end that He make it prevail over every [false] religion; and none can bear witness [to the truth] as God does.⁴²

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "through the revelations which He grants to His prophets". See also 3:19 - "the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] self-surrender unto Him": from which it follows that any religion (in the widest sense of this term) which is not based on the above principle is, eo ipso, false.

It is He who has sent His Rasool with Guidance and the religion of truth, so that He may exalt this religion over all other religions: and sufficient is Allah as a witness.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He it is Who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religion. And Allah sufficeth as a witness.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

MUHAMMAD is God's Apostle; and those who are [truly] with him are firm and unyielding⁴³ towards all deniers of the truth, [yet] full of mercy towards one another.⁴⁴ Thou canst see them bowing down, prostrating themselves [in prayer], seeking favour with God and [His] goodly acceptance: their marks are on their faces, traced by prostration.⁴⁵ This is their parable in the Torah as well as their parable in the Gospel:⁴⁶ [they are] like a seed that brings forth its shoot, and then He strengthens it, so that it grows stout, and [in the end] stands firm upon its stem, delighting the sowers.... [Thus will God cause the believers to grow in strengh,] so that through them He might confound⁴⁷ the deniers of the truth. [But] unto such of them as may [yet] attain to faith and do righteous deeds, God has promised forgiveness and a reward supreme.⁴⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

This composite gives, I believe, the full meaning of the term ashidda' (sing. shadid) in the above context.

Lit., "among themselves". Cf. 5:54 - "humble towards the believers, proud towards all who deny the truth".

The infinitive noun sulud ("prostration") stands here for the innermost consummation of faith, while its "trace" signifies the spiritual reflection of that faith in the believer's manner of life and even in his outward aspect. Since the "face" is the most expressive part of man's personality, it is often used in the Qur'an in the sense of one's "whole being".

Regarding the significance of the term Injil ("Gospel") as used in the Qur'an, see surah {3}, note [4].

Lit., "infuse with wrath".

Whereas most of the classical commentators understand the above sentence as alluding to believers in general, Razi relates the pronoun minhum ("of them" or "among them") explicitly to the deniers of the truth spoken of in the preceding sentence - i.e., to those of them who might yet attain to faith and thus achieve God's forgiveness: a promise which was fulfilled within a few years after the revelation of this verse, inasmuch as most of the Arabian enemies of the Prophet embraced Islam, and many of them became its torchbearers. But in a wider sense, this divine promise remains open until Resurrection Day (Tabari), relating to everybody, at all times and in all cultural environments, who might yet attain to the truth and live up to it.

Muhammad, the Rasool of Allah, and those with him are strong against the unbelievers and compassionate to each other among themselves. When you see them, you will find them making Rakuh (bowing down) and Sajud (prostrate in prayers), and craving for the blessings from Allah and His good pleasure. They have mark of Sajud (prostration) on their foreheads, the traces of their prostration. This is their similitude in the Taurat (Torah); and their similitude in the Injeel (Gospel): they are like the seed which puts forth its sprout, then strengthens it, then becomes thick and stands firmly on its stem, delighting the sowers of the seed, so that through them He may enrage the unbelievers. Yet to those of them who will believe and do good deeds, Allah has promised forgiveness and a great reward.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Thou (O Muhammad) seest them bowing and falling prostrate (in worship), seeking bounty from Allah and (His) acceptance. The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration. Such is their likeness in the Torah and their likeness in the Gospel like as sown corn that sendeth forth its shoot and strengtheneth it and riseth firm upon its stalk, delighting the sowers that He may enrage the disbelievers with (the sight of) them. Allah hath promised, unto such of them as believe and do good works, forgiveness and immense reward.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall